Roller-track mounting for concrete mixer drums and the like



J. w. LENDVED ETAL 2,610,043 ROLLER-TRACK MOUNTING FOR CONCRETE Sept. 9, 1952 L MIXER DRUMS AND THE LIKE Filed April 27, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTORS 9. 9. John ECLendved and By Clz'as.filau 9enecker,

ATTOR E) Sept. 9, 1952 J w, LENDVED ETAL 2,610,043

' ROLLER-TRACK MOUNTING FOR CONCRETE MIXER DRUMS AND THE LIKE Filed April 27, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTORS Jb/zn WLendved and By C'hasJZLongeneckew;

ATTOZNEY Patented Sept. 9, 1952 ROLLER-TRACK MOUNTING FORiCON CRETE vMJXERDRUMS AND YIIHEELI-KE John ':W. Lendved, Milwaukee, l and #Charles .I. .Longenecker, .Wauwatosa, Wis., assignors to Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee, Wis 'a corporation-cf --Wisconsin .ApplicationApril 27, 1950, Serial No. 158,406

9=Glaims. 1 The invention relates to rotatable l drums, and more especially to drums Tormed'of sheet metal and having one or more annular members surrounding and secured to their peripheries to :2 broken away "and section; of that portion of the drum whichiis equippedwithrthe -m ler track; Fig. 3 is an end. elevational "SViQW ;of the parts shown in Fig. 2, .as seen :from the v-I'ight thereof;

constitute tracks 'engageable with rolls which '5 Fig. :4 is an enlargedr-sectional -view-on the rotatablysupport the-drum. A typical example plane indicated by the lineal-flai ing; 3lrlooking f-the drums inquestion may be found inthe intheldirectionoftthearrows; mixing -or agitating receptacles widely 'used in Figs. 5 and :6 are lperspective'iviewsl of ithe eletruck-mounted concrete mixers, and-while not ments-whic'htare secured'to theldrum-periphery, strictly limited thereto, for purposes of the presm in circumferentially spaced rrelation mhoreabout, ent'disclosure the invention has been illustrated and serve as-seatsfior the trolleritrack, and and will be described in connection withsuch-a Fig. 7 is a plan view illustratinga convenient drum. modeler initially forming :theseating elements In the past-much-trouble hasbeen-experienced shown 'in Figs. :5 and 96. with the roller tracks of such concrete :mi-xing l5 Reterring to the said drawingsdn gneaterdetail, drums, due at least in part to thestr-ains-imthe concrete mixer.unitrshownriniliiig.i1 iswfithe posed upon the drum and track twisting of inclined axis type employ ng lea ;coniform.glrum, thetruck chassis and the mixer frame carried and comprises aframe4:1adaptedttoibamounted thereby (whichirame carriesthe drum supportupon the chassis of a motor truck (not shown) ing rollers) as the truck passes over or rests in which frame themixing drum 12:15 motatably upon uneven-ground. Additionally, the weight of mounted by :anaxial :forward rselfealining bearthe "concrete withinthe drums (asmueh as five ing1*3-andarearwardlpair'of lttansmrsfily S aced tons'or morein the larger sizes) =hasa tendency supporting rollsJl4,lupon whichmestsandztraYfils to distort the drum from acircular-to anoval the roller track 15 surrounding'tand secured-t0 cross-section, and as the drum walls are not ":5 the rearward endportion of the drum A12. The suflicientlyrigid-t-o fully overcome such tendency, said roller atrackisian-gendless iringtnfx hardened the distortion is constantly shiftin-g'as thedrum steel having a crossesection substantially :as rotates. shown in Figs. :2 ands, and tits :innercircum- To overcome the-difficulty it has been proposed ference is'seate'd uponl'andssupported by a minto weld the rollert-racks-to the drum-periphery, ralityof seating members m6 and :H whiehrare but since in the ordinary commercial mode of disposedin edgewise position'unon the drum ,wall constructing the drums from "metal sheets or in-arcuately spaced relationand welded .tozsaid plates the peripheral surfaces are seldom truly wall. circular, i. e., they havehigh and low spots,the As clearlyshown in Figs.'2,;5;:and;6,\these seatwelds have not-been uniform allaround the drum. n membe s-are -S aned in plan and tthey'a-ne Asa result, "the strains imposed upon the drums positioned lalternatelylabout .the :drum with the and tracks in use have frequentlyruptured-the apexes 18 of the members i ['6 facing:vforwarplly welds andloosened the tracks. whiletheapexes illofthemem-bers H-facerear- It isthe principal object of thepresent invenward-1y. :Sincethe drum surfacemnswhich-they tion toprovide'a roller-trackconstruction-and w are mounted is;coniform rather :thanrcylindrical, mounting-for rotatable drums which substantially the seating members are formed to $31361 longiovercomes the aforesaid difliculties and provides tudinaily complementarily to thevconicityoflthe an arrangernent better adapted towithstandthe drum, the members 16 -,being of less deyg th at usage to which i it is subjected. their t apexes vthan at the divergent ends of their -In theaccompanying-drawingsforming apart 3 legs 20, whilethe apex portions of the members ofthisspecification;inwhich like reference charl1 are deeper than the forward vends of their acters designate like parts in all views: legs 2!. Thus, when theseating members are Figure 1 is a side elevational'viewofthe essendisposedhabout-and secured to the Vconiform surtial elements of a well'known commercial form face of the drum theouter edge 'facesof the of concrete mixer unit adapted for mounting o legs "are substantially p-arallelto th dr i upon the chassis of a motor truck, and the drum and "in elTect provide a substantially cylindrical of which unit is provided withone form of roller support for theinner circumference of'the track track mounting constructed in accordance with ring l5. the invention; After the members 16 andll havebeen se- Fig. "2 is an enlarged elevational view, partly to cured to the drum the rearward portion-s of=their 3 outer faces are turned or ground down to provide seats 22 which are parts of a true circle concentric with the drum axis. This leaves shoulders 23 at the forward ends of the members against which the track ring it may abut, and this ring is shrunk onto the seats 22 by being heated, positioned upon the seats, and then cooled. Such shrink fit ordinarily is effective to retain the track in place indefinitely, but to guard against the contingency of its ultimate failure which would permit the ring to be displaced, the members IE are provided with legs 20, and clamping members 26 are secured thereto by bolts 21, said members having portions 28 engaging the rearward face of the track ring and tending to maintain said ring firmly against the shoulders 23. r 7

At one point on its inner circumference the track annulus l5 has welded to it a pair of angularly disposed bars or lugs 29 (Fig. 3) adapted to be engaged by the divergent legs 2! of one of the seating members I! when the track is in position on the drum, which lugs resist any circumferential creeping of the track upon the seating members which would tend to destroy the shrink fit between them.

The shape and positioning of the seating members It and Il about the drum in effect provides a substantially serpentine reinforcing band or rib encircling the drum which strengthens it both longitudinally and circumferentially and enables it to better withstand the distorting stresses and strains to which it is subjected in normal use. This, coupled with the shrink fit of the roller track upon the seating members, produces a construction which in actual practice has been found superior to previous ones in which the track was welded directly to the drum wall.

Since the seating members it and H are welded to the drum before the seating surfaces 22 are formed, the said members may accommodate any slight inequalities in the drum surface (i. e., high and low spots) and-the welds by which they are attached my be substantially uniform, thus eliminating one source of trouble with tracks welded directly to the drum as heretofore. Furthermore, the elimination of all welding of the track itself after it has been hardened eliminates any distortion thereof and any unusual inequalities in its hardness. If the track becomes worn to the point where replacement is necessary, it need be cut through at only one point to permit its removal, whereas with the prior welded tracks a cutting torch had to be employed around the entire circumference.

The seating members l6 and H may be formed inany appropriate manner, but a convenient and relatively inexpensive mode of manufacture is indicated in Fig. '7. That is to say, an elongated sheet or plate is bent along its longitudinal axis to a V-shaped cross-section, and this is then severed transversely along alternate inclined planes 39 and perpendicular planes 3! to result in the tapering V-shaped members 16 and I1 shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

While the invention has been illustrated and above described in connection with a coniform drum, it is not necessarily limited thereto, and those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that its principles may be easily applied to cylindrical drums, in which case fore-and-aft tapering of the legs of the seating members of course willnot be essential.

struts 25 welded to their What is claimed is: I

1. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about said wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, each of said members being rigidly attached to said wall and provided with seating surfaces constituting portions of a true circle concentric with said axis; and a contractile annulus surrounding said series of members and frictionally engaging their respective seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis.

2. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of seating members having elements extending generally longitudinally of the receptacle and disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about and in engagement with said peripheral wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, the portions of said members in contact with said wall being rigidly secured thereto while their outward portions are provided with seating surfaces constituting portions of a true circle concentric with said axis; and an annulus surrounding said series of members and contractively engaging their respective seating surfaces, whereby to provide a trackengageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis.

'3. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about said wall, each of said members comprising divergent elements extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle in engagement with said wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, the portions of said elements in contact with the wall being rigidly secured thereto while parts of their outward portions are cut away to provide seating surfaces constituting portions of a true circle of reduced diameter concentric with said axis; and a contractile annulus surrounding said series of members and tightly engaging their respective seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis.

4. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of V-shaped seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about said wall with their legs extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle and projecting outwardly from the wall, the portions of said members in contact with the wall being rigidly secured thereto while parts of their outward portions are cut away to provide shoulders and adjoining seating surfaces constituting portions of a true circle of reduced diameter concentric with said axis; and an annulus surrounding said series of members, abut ting their said shoulders and contractively engaging their respective seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis.

5. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of V-shaped seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about said wall with their legs extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle and projecting outwardly from the wall, and with the apexes of, adjacent members facing in opposite directions, the portions of said members in contact with the wall being rigidly secured thereto while parts of their outward portions are cut away to provide seating surfaces adjoined by raised shoulders, said surfaces constituting portions of a true circle concentric with said axis; and a contractile annulus surrounding said series of members, having an end face abutting said shoulders and an inner circumferential face tightly engaging said seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis.

6. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of series of V-shaped seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about and rigidly secured to said wall with their legs extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle and projecting outwardly from the wall, the outward portions of said members being cut away to provide seating surfaces adjoined by raised shoulders, said surfaces constituting portions of a true circle concentric with said axis; an annulus surrounding said series of members, having an end face abutting said shoulders and an inner circumferential face contractively engaging said seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis; and clamping members detachably secured to certain of said seating members and engageable with said annulus to prevent movement of the latter away from said shoulders.

'7. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of V-shaped seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation around and rigidly secured to said wall with their legs extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle and pro- J'ecting outwardly from the wall, certain of said members being provided with struts extending between and rigidly secured to their divergent legs, and the outward portions of all of said members being cut away to provide seating surfaces adjoined by raised shoulders, said surfaces constituting portions of a true circle concentric with said axis; a contractile annulus surrounding said series of members, having an end face abutting said shoulders and an inner circumferential face tightly engaging said seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis; and clamping members detachably secured to said struts and engaging the other end of said annulus to prevent movement of the latter away from said shoulders.

8. The combination with a receptacle having a peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation around and rigidly secured to said wall, said members having elements extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle and projecting outwardly from the wall, the outward portions of said elements being cut away to provide seating surfaces adjoined by raised shoulders, said surfaces constituting portions of a true circle concentric with said axis; an annulus surround ing said series of seating members, having an end face abutting said shoulders and an inner circumferential face contractively engaging said seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis; and means carried by said annulus positively engaging one of said seating members to prevent circumferential creep of the annulus relative to the members.

9. The combination with a receptacle having a coniform peripheral wall surrounding an axis about which the receptacle is to be rotated, of a series of seating members disposed in circumferentially spaced relation about and rigidly secured to said wall, said members having tapering elements extending fore-and-aft of the receptacle and projecting outwardly from the wall, the outward portions of said members being formed to provide seating surfaces constituting portions of a true cylinder concentric with said axis; and a contractile annulus surrounding said series of members and tightly engaging their respective seating surfaces, whereby to provide a track engageable with a supporting roller to mount the receptacle for rotation about said axis.

JOHN W. LENDVED. CHARLES I. LONGENECKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

